The present invention relates to an apparatus and software recording medium which can detect the meaning of input data when a businessman simply enters data without being aware of the conventionally practiced description of a program language (e.g., COBOL and FORTRAN) in accordance with a flow chart in preparing software and, more particularly, to an apparatus for automatically applying and preparing software and a recording medium for preparing software, capable of automatically selecting and applying software for processing the input data in accordance with the meaning of the input data upon detecting the meaning of the input data.
To conventionally create software, a routine for applying this software is designed in a flow chart, the program language is described in accordance with the flow chart, and the program language is then encoded into the machine language.
According to this method, however, the program language must be checked as a whole and corrected when the programmer wants to change setting conditions and dates in software data processing. Therefore, it takes time to change the design of the program, or jobs by specialists are required.
Even a simple change in processing contents and conditions of the conventional program becomes expensive, takes time, and requires the jobs of specialists.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for automatically applying and preparing software and a recording medium for preparing software, capable of automatically applying and preparing data processing software by detecting the meaning and contents of a data input when the user simply inputs the data without being aware of the description of a program language (e.g., COBOL or FORTRAN).
In order to achieve the above object according to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for applying and preparing software, comprising a file storing various kinds of business worksheets each including at least one business logic term representing a minimum unit in a business operation, rule setting means for displaying a given one of the business worksheets which corresponds to user selection information on a display to indicate a data input position of the given business worksheet together with a corresponding business logic term, a business data file for, when data is input to the data input position, storing the input data as business rule setting data, using means for inputting application data corresponding to the business logic term stored in the business data file, and business logic applying means for, when the application data is input, determining software to be used in correspondence with the business logic term corresponding to the application data, performing arithmetic processing by the determined software using the application data and the business rule setting data corresponding to the application data, and obtaining an arithmetic processing result.
According to the above means, in designing a program, rule setting data is input to a data input position accompanying to a business logic term on a business worksheet. The rule setting data is made to correspond to software for processing this rule setting data as reference data, on the basis of the meaning of the business logic term. This operation is a rule setting data input job for pursuing business operation rather than program design operation.
When application data corresponding to the above rule setting data is input in use of the apparatus, the application program is automatically selected and executed, thereby obtaining the processing result represented by the business term.
According to the present invention, there is provided a recording medium for applying and preparing software, comprising a worksheet file section storing various kinds of business worksheets each including at least one business logic term representing the minimum unit in a business operation, rule setting software for displaying a given one of the business worksheets which corresponds to user selection information on a display to indicate a data input position of the given business worksheet together with a corresponding business logic term, a business data file section for, when data is input to the data input position, storing the input data as business rule setting data, first use software for inputting application data corresponding to the rule setting data stored in the business data file section, and second use software for, when the application data is input, determining software to be used in correspondence with the business logic term corresponding to the application data, performing arithmetic processing by the determined software using the application data and the business rule setting data corresponding to the application data, and obtaining an arithmetic processing result.
In designing a program, the above recording medium is operated on the computer to allow the user to input rule setting data in a data input position accompanying to the business logic term on the business worksheet. The rule setting data is made to correspond to software for processing this rule setting data as reference data.
When application data corresponding to the above rule setting data is input in use of the computer, the application program is automatically selected and executed, thereby obtaining the processing result represented by the business term.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out hereinafter.